Unintentional Feelings
by charleymiamore
Summary: Kenshin was naturally suspicious of the new woman in Akira's life, and he felt that, as the best friend, he had to make sure that Akira wasn't heading into a painful relationship with her. What he didn't anticipate was the feelings she'd create in him.
1. Chance Meeting

He strode purposefully toward his office, oblivious to the nervous looks and hurried motions to get out of his way. Silence reigned while he passed; even his secretary's murmured "Good morning, sir" wasn't enough to break the silence.

He briefly turned his bright amethyst eyes to that secretary. In brisk, cool tones, he instructed her, "Inform me immediately when Nishikawa makes his call, then in five minutes, have the Advertising department meet me in the conference room." Without even waiting for the secretary to acknowledge the order, he went inside his office.

As soon as the doors closed, the silence broke slowly, as if the other employees were still afraid that he would hear, though the doors were designed to shut out every noise from outside. One employee nudged at an open-mouthed applicant, who seemed struck by the person's aura and all the others' regard of him.

"That is Kenshin Himura," he said to the applicant, in reply to the unspoken question written all over his face. "Be prepared to work for the most cold-blooded executive in this company, if you're lucky." After a moment's consideration, he added, "Or maybe not."

* * *

"Busy day today, isn't it?"

Kenshin turned to the voice of the newcomer, who, without any permission, threw himself on the leather-cushioned sofa on the space that served as a reception area in his office. Inwardly really glad to see him, but with his face still retaining that irritated expression because of the report he was holding in his hands, he looked as serious as he sounded when he said, "If you were really busy, you wouldn't be this cheerful enough to forget knocking on my door before you entered. Or even telling my secretary to buzz you in."

Akira Kiyosato, the newcomer, burst out laughing. "If you were that busy as well, you wouldn't be able to joke around at this time and place."

Kenshin couldn't help but smile at his carefree, happy-go-lucky friend. "You know, with that kind of attitude, one would never guess that you are the president of the Kiyosato Group."

"True," agreed Akira, "because they'd guess that was you." He smirked at Kenshin. "Honestly, you do my work as well as your own, that I don't even need to think about it."

Kenshin shrugged. "It's the least I could do," he replied quietly.

Akira laughed again to shake off the seriousness in the room. "If that's the least, I couldn't imagine what would happen about the most you can do."

Kenshin shrugged off the compliment. "What can I do for you, Akira?" he asked, to change the topic.

Akira grinned. "You always cut right to the heart of the matter, don't you?"

"That's my trademark," Kenshin retorted wryly. He looked up from the report he was reading to find Akira nervously fidgeting. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Akira assured him. Then he smiled as he added, "Actually, it's something _right_, if you know what I mean."

Kenshin just stared blankly at Akira. "No, I don't. Why don't you just cut to the chase, Akira?"

"Okay, okay," Akira said, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm just nervous to ask you this, but I'm wondering whether you'd be free at 7 pm later."

"That's after office hours, Akira."

"Well, yeah, but sometimes you go home so late –"

Kenshin cut him off. "I'll be there," he said. "But why do I have to?"

"I want to introduce you to someone, and I want your presence as my brother. You're the only family I have left, and it would be nice to be with family, right?" Akira stood up. "See you then."

"Wait," Kenshin called out, before Akira could go out the door. "Introduce me to who?"

* * *

Kenshin glanced impatiently at his watch. Of all the days for the Marketing group to present to him sloppy work, they had to pick _this _day. As he walked as fast as he can to his car, he couldn't help but hurl mental abuses to the Marketing group once again for an overtime that was totally unproductive.

It was 5 minutes to seven already, and he had to rush. He got in his car and turned the key in the ignition.

As they say, whatever can go wrong will go wrong. And it did go wrong, when his car refused to stir to life.

Kenshin let out an expletive. Furious with the world in general, he slammed shut the door to his car and, still cursing silently, ran to the elevator then out of the building. Impatiently, he waved for a cab, any cab, to take him to the Crown Hotel, where Akira was waiting. And he hated to think of Akira waiting for him.

Mercifully, a cab stopped in front of him. Before he could get in, though, Kenshin was promptly surprised to see another push to get in before him.

"Excuse me, miss—" for it was a woman "—but I believe that I called this cab," Kenshin said icily.

Dark blue eyes met him defiantly. "You're not too much in a rush, are you?" the woman replied quite breathlessly. "Please let me have this ride – I have to be somewhere in five minutes –"

"No," Kenshin replied adamantly, and yanked open the cab. An arm shot out to stop him from entering.

"Please?" the woman pleaded, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

The cab honked. "Are you coming in or not?" the driver called out, not too nicely.

Kenshin closed his eyes and sighed. "Get in."

The woman smiled. "Thank you," she breathed out, and got in.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

"The Crown Hotel," Kenshin and the girl said at the same time. Equally surprised, they looked at each other.

"That's mighty convenient," the driver remarked as they drove away.

Kenshin glanced at his watch again. Of course, he didn't expect to be at the Crown in less than a minute, so he simply sighed and thought of at least texting Akira that he was already on his way. As he was pulling out his phone, though, he couldn't help but glance over his companion. She was staring out of the window, her fingers nervously fidgeting and her teeth biting her lower lip. Every now and then, he could hear her sigh. Phone forgotten, he simply found himself eyeing her overall appearance. Her hair, swept up in a ponytail, looked girlish as compared to the sophistication of the backless navy blue dress she wore – but as she turned to him, the effect was simply elegant on her.

"Is there anything wrong?" the woman asked him as she caught him staring at her. He quickly turned his eyes to his phone. "Nothing," he replied. "To wonder why you'd be dressed like that would be none of my business, I suppose."

The woman looked down at herself then turned to him again. "Actually, it's my first time to dress up like this," she explained. "I couldn't just walk in the Crown in jeans, right?"

"It must be a very important occasion for you," Kenshin said.

The woman shrugged. "Quite, I think. I'm going to meet my fiancé and his brother today."

"A fiancé," Kenshin mused. A smile turned up the corners of his mouth. "Congratulations, then. I wish you both all the happiness in the world."

The woman smiled back. "Thank you."

The cab stopped. "We're here," the driver announced. Kenshin glanced at the meter, then stopped the woman from reaching out for her purse. "I'll pay it," he said, and to cut off her protests, he handed over the driver their fare. "Keep the change."

"Thank you again," the woman said when they were in front of the hotel.

"No problem," Kenshin said. As they walked in, he turned to her and asked, "Where would you be headed?"

The woman looked confused. "I'm supposed to meet my fiancé at the Diamond Hall, but I have no idea where that is."

Kenshin raised an eyebrow. "I'm headed there as well," he said, marvelling at the bizarre coincidences between them, and saw it mirrored on the woman's face. He chuckled. "What a strange day."

"Indeed," the woman agreed.

"There you are!" Akira's voice echoed through the lobby. Both of them looked up and saw him going down the stairs to meet them.

Kenshin stood immobilized as the woman stepped forward and called out to Akira. "Yes, here I am, as you told me to be," she said smiling.

"I thought you got lost," Akira said as he embraced the woman and looked tenderly into her eyes. "I know how much you dislike finery like this one, but this is a special occasion."

Turning to Kenshin, who was slowly gathering his composure at the unusual turn of events, Akira introduced the woman formally to him. "This is Kenshin Himura, my dearest friend who I call brother."

It was the woman's turn to start.

"Kenshin, this is Kaoru Kamiya, my fiancée."


	2. Doubts and Chances

"It's too random to be called coincidence, but I must say that is the most wonderful story I've ever heard," Akira said after Kaoru had told him how she and Kenshin met. "I've got to hand it to destiny for bringing together my two most beloved people in the world."

Kenshin merely smiled his assent and carried on with his food. Kaoru frowned inwardly. The change between the silent, brooding Kenshin in front of her from the kind, smiling Kenshin she met in the cab was startling. She could swear he could kill her with those icy looks that he was throwing her every few seconds. She didn't understand how he could hate her – yes, with a woman's intuitive sense, she knew he hated her – in a matter of seconds. Shivering at the thought, she clutched the coat she was wearing tighter to her body –which, she realized, Kenshin had draped around her shoulders a while ago.

After a pause, Kenshin finally spoke. "You're very good at keeping secrets, Akira, I'll give you that," he remarked drily. "Engaged to be married? When did that happen?"

Akira laughed. "I'm sorry, Kenshin. You know how busy you've been these past few weeks. I never got round to telling you," he apologized.

Kenshin turned to Kaoru, who lifted her eyes to meet his own. "From what I understand, you've only known each other for what, nine months?"

"Almost ten, actually," Akira said, as Kaoru muttered, "Nine and a half," almost at the same time.

Kenshin turned his cool, speculative gaze from one person to another. "About ten months then," he decided. He leaned back and crossed his arms. "To be honest, I can only think of one reason why you'd be too much in a hurry to be married." His gaze at Kaoru was such that as soon as the implication of his words hit her, Kaoru felt blood rush to her cheeks.

Thankfully, Akira laughed and saved her from replying. He openly reached out for her hand, a gesture which drew Kenshin's eyes away from her, allowing her to breathe more freely. "Of course not," Akira replied to Kenshin's accusation. "Whatever you're thinking, it's not. The only reason why I'm marrying Kaoru is that I love her, simply that."

Kenshin's eyes narrowed. "But why this soon?"

Akira laughed again. "You're probably worse than my mother in worrying about me, if she were still alive," he chuckled. Then he sobered. "You know how impulsive I am, Kenshin, and this is one impulse that's difficult for me to suppress."

"I never thought you'd let that impulsiveness overrule your better senses," Kenshin muttered.

"As far as I know, my impulses don't always end badly," Akira replied. There was a warm light in his hazel brown eyes as he looked at Kenshin and added, "It led me to my most treasured friend, therefore I feel confident that it would serve me in the same manner."

Kenshin was silenced, and, as far as Kaoru could perceive, was much affected by Akira's words. His discomposure, though, didn't last long. Feigning cordiality, Kenshin remarked, "Since there's no stopping you then, when's the date going to be?"

Akira answered, "We decided it'll be five months from now, in time for Kaoru's birthday."

Kenshin's hand stilled halfway from raising his glass to his lips. "Five months?" he pronounced each syllable with emphasis.

Akira nodded. "Yes, five months. Preparations won't take long, since Kaoru only wants a small wedding as compared to my actual proposal of a grand one."

Kenshin never lost that incredulous look on his face. "You're really rushing this on, aren't you?"

Akira smiled. "I just don't want to lose Kaoru to another man," he said. He took Kaoru's hand, raised it to his lips, and kissed it. "I don't want to lose this treasure I've been looking for all my life." He turned to Kenshin. "I'm sure you understand that."

Kenshin nodded slightly, but as soon as Akira turned away, he turned the full blast of his icy gaze on Kaoru, who wondered how she was still able to live through that murderous gaze of his.

He doesn't hate her, Kaoru amended. Kenshin Himura loathes her.

* * *

"Your brother hates me," Kaoru mumbled sullenly as she strapped herself in her seat beside Akira.

Akira laughed and turned the key in the ignition. "Nonsense. Kenshin doesn't hate anybody – he can never hate anybody, as far as I know."

The car softly purred to life, and they started driving away from the Crown to Kaoru's apartment. Kaoru, meanwhile, threw a nasty look at Akira. "Then why does he look at me like that? He looks as if he'd like to cheerfully strangle me right then and there."

"He looked nothing at all like that. He's simply gazing at you like the brother that he is."

"If that's how a brother should look, I'm so thankful I never had one," Kkaoru muttered.

Akira laughed again. "You might regret saying that once you've known Kenshin." Kaoru shot him an I-don't-think-so look, and Akira laughed harder. "Trust me, Kenshin only appears like that at first, cold and uninviting, but as soon as he warms up to you, I'm certain you'll be the best of friends."

"I hope so," Kaoru said without conviction, and , taking cold, instinctively pulled her coat closer—which, she realized a second later, she forgot to return to Kenshin Himura.

Akira smiled at her evident surprise. "His care for people really isn't the kind which is instantly recognized, and most often people don't realize it." His voice took on a softer tone. "He himself doesn't expect any reward from it, because he always believes himself unworthy of any, despite what he has done." He smiled at her. "That's what drew me to him in the first place – and what keeps me always anxious to repay him every day. I hope you'll also see him that way eventually."

Kaoru smiled back, then reached out for Akira's free hand. "I hope so," she said again, a bit more cheerfully this time.

* * *

In his bedroom suite, standing in front of the glass windows overlooking the night city skyline, Kenshin was deep in thought. His striking red hair and violet eyes barely made a reflection in the glass as he contemplated the news that burst on him tonight.

That Akira was in love was no news. He'd seen him fall in love with many attractive women before, women who were elegant and sophisticated and came from illustrious backgrounds. Though he'd become exasperated at the speed in which Akira fell in and out of love with these women, he'd never believed for once that Akira would even think of marriage with any one of them. That's why it took him totally by surprise that Kaoru Kamiya, a mere unknown, could wring an offer of marriage from Akira after barely nine months of dating.

Nine months! Kenshin thought disgustedly. And they are to be married in such a short time too! What kind of madness possessed Akira to do this?

After sometime, Kenshin shook his head. No, Akira isn't mad, he decided. If anything, he rather thought Kaoru Kamiya responsible for this decision of Akira's. But how? That was the problem. If he were to take her word (or rather, Akira's word, because he still doesn't trust that girl) for it, the girl isn't pregnant.

Love? Oh please, Kenshin thought sardonically. This isn't just love. The haste with which the decision was made and executed was highly suspicious. No, it isn't love at all, but something else.

He dialled the number of the Oniwabanshu, a self-styled investigation agency who have handled Kiyosato Corporation's affairs for years. One of the things they most especially boast of, aside from efficiency, was silence. He could depend on them for secrecy, because he couldn't imagine what would happen if Akira were to find out what he was going to do next.

At the first ring, a pleasant female voice answered. "Oniwabanshu, how may I help you?"

* * *

**Author's note: Actually this story has been written for quite some time now (about 2 years, I suppose? =P) so it was time that I took it out of the notebook and show it to others too. I was thinking of making a Kenshin/Tomoe story (and it did start off that way), but from the way the female character turned out, I saw Kaoru's attributes in her. So… my Kenshin and Tomoe story will have to wait. =)**

**Thanks to all who have read and gave reviews for this story! What's a story without readers, eh? =)**


	3. Chance Meeting, Again

"No, and if you don't comply with our specifications, the deal's off," Kenshin said with an irate finality, and cut short the conversation.

His breath came out harshly as he tried to calm himself down after a particularly trying meeting with the construction group who was working on a new shopping mall. He owned that Kiyosato Corp. had specific demands on how it wanted that mall to be, but those demands weren't necessarily impossible. He'd even suggested some ideas to make their demands work, but people are simply incapable of full understanding sometimes.

Returning to the main office, he strode through the lobby, intending to get to the elevators as fast as he could, but he stopped in his tracks as he caught sight of the slim frame of Kaoru Kamiya. Dressed casually in a denim bolero jacket, white shirt, jeans, and rubber shoes, with her dark hair swept into a ponytail (again), she looked conspicuous in a place full of impeccably suited men and women, even without the lunch box in her hands and a dark coat slung over her arm.

Deciding to know at once why she was here, Kenshin approached her at the reception area. As soon as he was within earshot, he heard the conversation, or rather the argument, between her and the receptionist.

"…don't allow non-personnel up the office building," the receptionist was saying.

"I know that, but I just want to take this to Ak—to Mr. Kiyosato," Kaoru replied. "He's ... a friend of mine. If you'll just mention my name to him, he'll understand."

"All the same, miss, we can't –" the receptionist made a little gasp at the sight of Kenshin approaching them and immediately stood up. "Sir Himura."

Kaoru whirled and nearly collided with Kenshin, who held her arms quickly to steady her. "Kenshin," she murmured. When she saw his eyebrows knit together, though, she instantly corrected herself. "Mr. Himura, I mean."

"I'll take care of this, thank you," Kenshin said to the receptionist, and took Kaoru by the elbow to steer her away from the reception area. "What are you doing her, Miss Kamiya?" he asked unceremoniously.

Despite what Akira said last night, Kaoru still felt apprehensive of Kenshin Himura. "I just wanted to give this lunch box to Akira," she said, indicating the box in her hand, "and to return to you your coat," holding out the coat in her arm.

Kenshin merely glanced at the two items she held in her hands and looked at her. "Did Akira ask you to come here?" he asked coldly.

"No," Kaoru replied, "but he said I'm free to come and visit him here anytime."

_Imprudent girl,_ Kenshin thought. "Did it ever occur to you that he might just be busy – and that you might just be interfering with his work?"

Kaoru longed to wither from the scorching gaze he was giving her, but her natural inclination made her stand firm. "He said he wouldn't consider my visit a nuisance, and besides, this is the first time I've ever visited him in his workplace," she said defiantly.

"He's just too kind to say so," Kenshin shot back.

Kaoru started to say something, but was cut short by Akira's unexpected entrance.

"Kaoru!" he said, delight brightening his eyes, as he walked toward them. Unconsciously, Kaoru stepped away from Kenshin to meet Akira in a warm embrace.

"I never thought you'd come to see me here," Akira said as he pulled away to look better into Kaoru's face. "You're always surprising me at every turn."

Kaoru smiled. "I brought you lunch and Ken—Mr. Himura's coat," she explained.

"You shouldn't have bothered," Akira said as he took both things from her. "I could've just taken Kenshin's coat and given it to him myself." He passed on the coat to Kenshin, who took it without a word. "Besides, I was about to call you for lunch." He looked at Kenshin. "Want to come with us?"

Kenshin shook his head. "No thank you," he said.

Akira shrugged and passed Kaoru's lunch box to him. Kaoru tried to protest, but Akira said to Kenshin, "I bet you'd be working through your lunch hour again. You should eat something, you know. Work can survive without you for a few minutes, can't it?" He waved goodbye and walked away with Kaoru in tow.

Kenshin just stared at the lunch box he held in his hands before starting toward the elevator doors.

* * *

"If you have any problems with me, Akira, just say so," Kenshin remarked as he looked at Akira entering his office. "You didn't need to poison me with this." He indicated the empty lunch box on his table.

Akira threw back his head in a shout of laughter. "But you finished it!" he said.

Kenshin shrugged. "I was hungry," he said simply.

Akira grinned. "Well, it's not half so bad after you wash it down with tea."

"What do you think I'm doing right now?" Kenshin replied, and indicated again to the pot and cup of tea in front of him. "This is my third, actually."

Akira chuckled. "Kaoru has a lot of good skills, but cooking sadly isn't one of them," he said fondly. "She has a passion for it, though, just not the proficiency in it."

"So the saying "Good food is the way to a man's heart" doesn't apply to her then?" Kenshin teased.

"Absolutely," Akira nodded, and added, "Thank God for fastfood."

"She's lucky then, for finding that one person who's not at all bothered by her lack of culinary skills," Kenshin then said lightly. Then he turned serious. "It still doesn't reconcile me to the fact, though, that you're going to get married to somebody who is not at level with your class –"

"I never did care about wealth and "classes" when being friends with people," Akira pointed out, "and I most especially do not consider that when choosing the woman I'm going to spend the rest of my life with."

"Okay," Kenshin said, chastised, "getting married to somebody you barely know, then. Between you and your work, I doubt you've been getting enough time to know Kaoru Kamiya better in those ten months."

Akira turned to him and said somberly, "Sometimes, it doesn't matter even if you've been with a person forever or just for a second. What matters is that you've bonded tightly by some unknown reason, and I am bonded to Kaoru already… for the rest of my life."

Kenshin fell silent. Akira smiled sympathetically. "I wish you can feel this way too, my friend." His voice turned wistful. "I wish you'd find someone who can make you happy even in the midst of depair, who can sympathize with you just when the world has turned its back on you, or who can ease the loneliness in your heart, even if you pretend you can do everything alone." His eyes now focused on Kenshin's. "Most importantly, someone who will love you better than life itself."

"And you believe Kaoru Kamiya is that girl?" Kenshin asked quietly.

"Yes, I do," Akira replied.

Kenshin smiled wryly. "Well, not all people have your good luck, Akira," he said. "I'm content then that you're happy." _And I'll make sure you stay happy_, he added mentally. To change the subject, he continued, "The others would be expecting an engagement party, though. When are you going to have it?"

"A week from now," Akira replied. "Kaoru wasn't really enthusiastic about it though, because she said, as long as we know it, that's enough. I agree with her, but, " he shrugged at Kenshin, "you know."

Kenshin smiled sympathetically. "I know."

Akira stood up. "I'm going to finish up something at Advertising first before I move out and join Kaoru in the preparation of the party. You want to join us later?"

Kenshin shook his head. "No, I still have to study the Hikari Group's business proposal first, then something else later. You go on ahead, it's your party anyway, right?"

Akira laughed, then raised his arm in farewell as he went out the door. "See you tomorrow then."

"See you," Kenshin replied, but as soon as Akira was out the door, his mouth turned grim. He walked over the windows to look out at the city below. "Kaoru Kamiya," he whispered. "I hope, for your sake and Akira's, that you don't have any skeletons in your closet. If you're going to cause Akira pain, I'll do whatever it takes to give you the same, if not worse."

He glanced at the folder on his table that the Oniwabanshu had sent him. It's time to learn Kaoru Kamiya's secrets.

* * *

**Read and review please! =)**


	4. Discoveries

"Welcome to the Akabeko restaurant!" A cheerful face greeted Kenshin as he stepped inside a quaint, traditional Japanese restaurant. He blinked, feeling somewhat out of date in his formal, modern business suit in the midst of Meiji-era furnishings and atmosphere.

A teenager, about eleven or twelve years old, ushered him towards one of the stalls inside the restaurant. As he sat down on the worn-out cushion, he appreciated the privacy that the stall afforded because he could hardly see any other customer except of course the ones in the stall opposite his. He also liked the warmth and the coziness of the atmosphere the setup in the restaurant provided, which wasn't lessened by the pleasant and cheerful attitudes of the waitresses there.

"Here's the menu, sir, and a server will be assisting you when you're ready," the girl who ushered him in said. "Make yourself comfortable please!" she added, and smiled so sweetly that Kenshin smiled back in spite of himself.

"Thank you," he said, then glanced over the menu. After getting his order, the girl directly went to a group of other waitresses like her who were standing by for want of other things to do.

Tae Sekihara, the owner of the Akabeko, was amused by the girl's blushing face. "Is there going to be a reason for Yahiko to be jealous?" she said, referring to the restaurant's errand boy.

The girl blushed deeper. "Miss Tae!" she cried out. "Please don't tease me like this."

Tae laughed. "Then why did you come back here all red in the face, Tsubame?" She peeked at the stall where the poor girl came from. "I can't see clearly."

"It's the customer in stall 7," Tsubame admitted shyly. "I rather thought… he was quite handsome, what with his red hair and violet eyes."

Kenshin came into view long enough for them to be able to see him clearly. Tae whistled softly."Yahiko really is going to be jealous for this," she remarked.

"Miss Tae!" Tsubame blushed again.

Tae smiled sympathetically at the girl. "Good looking as he is, he's too old for you, though." She glanced around, and found what she was looking for. "Now _she_ wouldn't. Come here, Kaoru, and take Number 7's order for Tsubame, please."

With his acute hearing, Kenshin inwardly smiled to himself as he mentally prepared to encounter Kaoru on her turf. He chuckled while imagining her various expressions of surprise, horror, or maybe indignation when she finds out he knows where she works. As she approached, he had to wipe his smiles from his face and feign indifference at their first tete-a-tete, but he was also as surprised as she was in the end.

"Here's your order –" Kaoru was startled and made a little jump backwards as she saw Kenshin Himura seated on the cushion and actually glancing up at her expectantly. It was a miracle that the tray with his food remained in her grip.

Kenshin smiled. "I'm impressed, Kaoru," he remarked. "You managed to keep the tray in your hands with that kind of shock on your face."

And he was truly impressed. He was never more amazed at how Kaoru looked. The brown-and-white striped uniform which was fashioned after the traditional kimono, but with the skirt cut short above the knee, looked innocent enough on the teenager, but on Kaoru it looked more fetching. Kaoru's slim figure fitted the kimono to a T, but with her shapely legs displayed at such an advantage, she managed to look demure, yet provocative at the same time.

"Here is your order, sir," Kaoru managed to steady her nerves and her voice. She put down the tray of food. "Enjoy your meal."

"So polite," Kenshin remarked drily as he took his chopsticks from her. "Aren't you surprised I'm here?"

Kaoru smiled slightly. "I thought that was obvious," she replied. "I want to ask you what you're doing here, but I'd rather know after work."

He smiled appreciatively. "Separating business from pleasure, I see."

"This isn't exactly a pleasure, though," she shot back in clipped tones.

"I understand." Kenshin broke apart the chopsticks.

"Would you be needing anything else, _sir_?" she asked, giving unnecessary, yet pointed emphasis on the honorific.

In reply, Kenshin proceeded to take a bite of his food. "Does Akira visit here often?" he asked, not looking at her.

The question caught Kaoru off guard once again. At the silence, Kenshin looked up. Apprehension followed surprise on her face. "I would really appreciate it if Akira doesn't know about this," she said warily, indicating the restaurant.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

Kaoru hesitated, debating whether or not to tell him. Caution flew out the window as honesty prevailed. "Actually, he doesn't know about this job," she said. "The one he knows about was the job I left two or three weeks before."

"I see." Kenshin avoided any reply and focused on the taste of the food, which was surprisingly good. He smiled to himself. _That isn't fair_, he thought. _I'm comparing it to that … lunchbox, that's why _this_ is good_. But by any standards, he supposed, the food was great. He turned again to Kaoru. "Why doesn't he know about this?"

Kaoru fidgeted with her apron. "I… I don't know, to tell the truth," she said lamely. "Maybe it's because I'm afraid to tell Akira. That last job was his idea," she tried to explain again, "but… I've never really felt comfortable with secretarial duties and the fact that he placed me there."

"I see," Kenshin said again.

"Would there be anything else, Mr. Himura?" Kaoru asked, this time patiently and softly.

"For now," he replied, and as he looked at Kaoru's retreating back, he repeated to himself, _for now._

* * *

Kaoru Kamiya's job at the Akabeko restaurant was only part-time, thought, as Kenshin had read from her file sent in by the Oniwabanshu. After finishing up at the Akabeko, she goes to a certain bookstore from Monday to Wednesday as a cashier, then Thursday to Saturday she teaches swordsmanship to local kids at a certain run-down dojo.

_Swordsmanship! At this time and age!_ He chuckled. _This I've got to see._

That's what he did, one afternoon after escaping the continuous demands of the Nishikawa group. After changing into casual clothes—a nondescript pair of jeans, blue V-necked t-shirt, and a faded, denim jacket—he hailed a cab which drove him to the Kamiya Kasshin dojo, a small secluded spot right in the middle of the slum area.

Exactly why the dojo was in the slum area, Kenshin was mystified, because as the file says, Kaoru lived a middle-class life. At that last thought, he shook his head. _Why am I preoccupied with social classes anyway? Have I really changed so much that I've forgotten where I've come from?_ That was a sobering thought that kept him quiet for the rest of the ride.

After paying the fare and seeing the cab drive off, Kenshin stood in front of a dilapidated building that was truly fashioned in the olden times. The sign that told him he was in the right place showed signs of decay already, not to mention the chinks and cracks in the walls surrounding the dojo. The gate was partially open, and with his slender frame, he was able to slip through.

But while the outside gates showed signs of wearing down, the inside of the dojo was clean and well-kept. The yard was swept clean of the leaves that had started to fall at the onset of autumn. As he walked through the corridors of the dojo itself, he marvelled at the polishing of the aged wood and wondered how it was accomplished.

The sounds of exertion on one side of the dojo drew him at length towards a pair of sliding doors that were slightly open. He peeked inside. There, to his amazement, he saw Kaoru Kamiya holding a wooden sword and in a traditional hakama in front of six or seven kids of varying ages and sizes. He looked down at the slippers fixed neatly outside the doors, then back again at the class. Beads of sweat running down her face, flushed with the exercise, Kaoru had never looked more beautiful indeed.

Kenshin stiffened and checked that thought. He hastily turned away from the sight and instead leaned on the wooden wall.

"Okay, so just practice what we have learned so far, and tomorrow, we'll learn another Kasshin-ryu strike," he finally heard Kaoru say.

"Thank you for the lesson, Kaoru-sensei," the children chorused. There was a bustle, and one by one, the kids reclaimed their slippers and rushed out of the dojo.

Kenshin waited until the last person left the dojo, then stepped in, and nearly made Kaoru choke on the water she was drinking. "Need help in cleaning up?" he said, smiling.

* * *

**Thanks for all the reviews I've had so far! =) Some of them made me think twice about parts of the story, like Fenris Jin's (I think Kaoru's striking back will have to wait…sorry****) and a few guests (the unknown: yep, loathe and hate are the same thing…) so, thanks!**

**A word on character descriptions: I'm so lousy at describing people… Scenes I can describe, but people, I have a difficulty with. So if you find the description about Kaoru kinda cheesy, I'm with you. =) And I hope I had done justice with what Kaoru really is like in what I'm writing right now, so there.**

**Read and review please! =)**


	5. Touched

**Please forgive the long silence. Life intervened. =) Now, on with the story! =)**

* * *

At first, it was a little awkward to walk beside Kenshin Himura, that's why Kaoru remained silent for the first ten minutes of the walk. Or maybe five. Because, of course, she couldn't figure out why he would suddenly show himself here in the slums of Tokyo. She decided to break the ice first.

"I'm getting suspicious," Kaoru said as they walked through the dirty alleyways going out to the main road. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were stalking me," she accused him.

Kenshin laughed. "If I am stalking," he replied, "it's all for the benefit of Akira."

"Akira?" Kaoru repeated, eyebrows raised.

"Yes," he said, "I want to know you better in Akira's behalf."

Kaoru laughed. "To satisfy your curiosity, more like," she said. "I don't believe for a second that Akira would _spy _on me, much less send _you _to spy on me."

Kenshin smiled slightly. "Touché."

_What an unhelpful reply, _she thought ruefully. Nevertheless, she smiled back. "See?" Then she sobered, and asked him seriously, "You really don't trust me much, do you?"

He stared straight ahead as he answered, "You think?"

His tone hurt her a little, but she just expelled a harsh breath in reply. She stepped in front of him and asked him, rather playfully, "So, now that you've seen what I do, and what I am, how do I rate now, Mr. Best Friend?"

He regarded her carefully. Of course, with everything that he'd seen of her, Kenshin now fully believed that Kaoru Kamiya is a girl whose character is naturally kind and warm, selfless and giving, patient and determined. The report from the Oniwabanshu had reflected that. Her modest work at the Akabeko, her cheerfulness at the bookshop, and her dedication on teaching kids something worthwhile as swordsmanship: all of it told him that.

If Akira saw this, he would know for sure that he is a lucky guy.

To answer Kaoru, though, he shrugged nonchalantly. "You're all right, I guess."

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at him, but did not pursue the subject. "I'll take your word for it then," she said.

Then they walked on in silence, with the sky giving way to the darkness of the night. The first stars have started to twinkle in the sky.

Suddenly, Kaoru burst out, "I know just the thing!" She turned to Kenshin with a mischievous smile. "I bet you haven't tried anything like this yet."

Kenshin was puzzled. "What?"

She just smiled in reply. "Wait here," she said. "I hope you're hungry." She took off.

"Kaoru!" Kenshin called out, but she just raised her arm in reply and was gone. _Great_, he thought wryly as he leaned against a concrete lamppost. Not only does she have the superb stamina to keep three jobs at once, she also has an unpredictable way of thinking.

As he leaned there, immersed in thoughts that mainly concerned Kaoru, his cellphone rang. After giving an irritated glance at the display which told him it was the chief engineer of the construction group, he turned on the conversation with him, mainly instructions about some aspects of the construction which the engineer wants to be clarified on.

He was not thoroughly engaged with this conversation to be fully unaware of the sinister shadows creeping at the edge of the lamplight. Three men with knives, based on what little he can see of them. _Very well_, he decided, feeling a wave of cold ruthlessness seep through his veins. _They want a fight, then it's a fight they'll get._

"I'll call you back," he said into the phone, then turned it off. He crossed his arms on his chest and waited for the boldest of the three to approach.

"Nice toy," the fellow said, while flicking up and down a short-bladed knife.

"Yours too," Kenshin replied in an icy tone.

The leader's eyes knitted together. "You seem somehow familiar," he whispered, but before Kenshin could reply to it, he shook his head. "It doesn't matter," he said loudly, "If you hand us that, and everything you have on you, we promise we'll let you go unhurt." He motioned to his lackeys, who positioned themselves on either side of Kenshin.

Kenshin wasn't the least perturbed. "Everything? Underwear too, I suppose?" he said mockingly. Then he turned serious and glared at them all. "If you scamper away as quietly as possible, nobody's going to be hurt."

"Arrogant bas—Suit yourself," the man said, and at a signal, they all brandished their knives and attacked Kenshin.

"Clumsy amateurs," he muttered as he nimbly sidestepped each of their attacks and delivered a crushing blow with his fists to the stomach of one of the lackeys who immediately doubled over in pain.

"You'll pay for that one!" the leader cried out, incensed at how his cohort was sent to his knees. Kenshin just grinned mockingly at him as he moved out of the way and with a slice of his hand, knocked the knife out of the man's hands. Before he could pick it up again, however, Kenshin kicked it far from his reach.

"Get going!" he hissed, but the three were persistent.

"You think we're alone?" the leader said furiously as he clutched his hurt hand. The two others were behind him, one supporting the other as he clutched his midsection, but at another signal from the leader, four others appeared behind them. "What do you say now, Mr. Smarty-pants?" the leader jeered. "Give it up!"

Kenshin clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes. "You give it up," he mocked, giving them such a frightening look that some of the others stepped back in spite of themselves. The leader, however stood his ground.

"Prepare to die then—"

"Kenshin!"

At the sound of Kaoru's voice, Kenshin cursed softly and threw an arm across as he heard Kaoru's steps approach behind him. "Stay back!" he warned her, but she still stepped up beside him.

The leader seemed surprised as well at the sight of Kaoru. "Miss Kaoru," he said, "you know this man?"

Kenshin was astonished at the familiarity this man had with Kaoru, but he nevertheless gripped Kaoru's arm as she went past him to speak to these guys. "Kaoru—" he began, but she just smiled at him.

"It's okay, I know these people," she assured him, and looked down at his hand holding her arm, but he still didn't let go. She sighed, and stayed where she was. "Mr. Tanaka," she addressed the leader, who flinched at the sound of his name, "what are you doing?"

The leader turned sheepish. "We…uh… we just wanted to know the newbie," he said, indicating Kenshin.

Kaoru picked up the discarded knife. "With this?" she said, a look of disapproval in her voice.

The leader shrugged. "Old habits die hard, Kaoru," he offered as an excuse, but she didn't buy it.

"I thought you promised my father – promised your sons too – that you would be better fathers?" she admonished, each word falling like a whiplash on each of the men. "You promised them that you'll stop this… this habit of terrorizing, stealing, and hurting other people, didn't you? You didn't learn swordsmanship from him just to use it for this purpose."

The leader –Mr. Tanaka—started to open his mouth to defend himself, but only managed to sigh. "It's been difficult, Miss Kaoru, to find a decent-paying job," he admitted bleakly. "Who would want to hire us, ignorant and uneducated as we are?"

"But if you rob people like Kenshin, that's just fast cash," she reasoned. "After the money you took from Kenshin runs out, what happens next? Wait for another Kenshin to pass through? It's going to be an endless cycle, one that you're going to put your kids through."

The men looked contrite enough, so Kaoru took pity on them. She brought out her purse and started pulling out bills from it. Mr. Tanaka quickly backed away. "No, Miss Kaoru, we can't take your money again—"

Kaoru shook her head. "You need the money more than I do," she said, but before she could give any of the bills to them, Kenshin stopped her.

"Let me," he told her, then faced the men. "If you'd just asked nicely, I would have given my money to you easily enough," he said, smiling to diffuse the doubt written all over their faces. Turning to the man he punched in the gut, he put some bills into his hand and said, "Sorry if it was a bit hard."

The man shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I deserved what I got."

Kenshin smiled sympathetically, then proceeded to empty his wallet of all the petty cash he had on him. "And if you need a job," he added, "I think I can get you one. Does any one of you know about carpentry?" Almost all of them did, and he proceeded to give them directions to the construction site, who to contact, and what to do there. The men dispersed, with murmured thanks here and there.

He whirled around to see Kaoru beaming at him. "We needed more construction workers, and luckily, I found them," he explained, rather unnecessarily.

Kaoru smiled. "You didn't have to do that for them," she said. "I'm impressed."

Kenshin shrugged. "Let's just say I was impressed first." He smiled back at Kaoru.

A jaunty grin flashed at him. "This changes my perspective about you, Mr. Kenshin Himura. At first I thought you were a just an antisocial –"

"Ha!"

"—coldhearted – "

"What?!"

"—emotionless guy," Kaoru finished.

"Hey." Kenshin was shooting daggers with his eyes already. But she just playfully linked her arm with his and swung them like children would.

"Now I know that you're also soft here," she said, lightly touching the area where his heart is with her finger, her gaze softening as she looked at him, "just like Akira." As they continued walking, she suddenly noticed the paper bag she was holding. She reached in and pulled out two skewers of grilled squid. "Want some?"

Kenshin looked at the skewers and wordlessly took one from her. He bit into the squid. "You're wrong," he said suddenly.

"With what?" Kaoru asked.

He bit into the squid again. "I have eaten this before." He smiled at her.

But as they walked, eating and talking and laughing together, he still felt the light touch of her finger not only on his skin, but also on his heart.

* * *

**When I watched the live action of Rurouni Kenshin, I was annoyed at first at the idea that Kenshin uses his fists too for fighting (I was thinking, **_**What? Isn't that supposed to be Sano's style? Purely Sano's style? Why mix Sano with Kenshin?!**_**). Then, when I watched the movie again, I was intrigued (**_**Hmm… interesting…**_**). By the end of the fourth (=P) viewing, I was thinking, "COOL!"**

**Inspirations. =)**


	6. Are You Happy?

After giving further instructions to the chief engineer about the additional workers coming in, Kenshin turned off his phone and threw himself on his bed. He stared at the ceiling, and let memories of Kaoru fill his mind.

Kaoru Kamiya, he decided, was a joy to be with. These past few days he'd spent in (_Yes, I admit it, _he thought ruefully) spying on her had given him an unexpected dose of happiness that was more than what he bargained for, or even expected to find with her. He'd tried to guard himself against her, but her jovial disposition made him lower his defences entirely.

Even when he closed his eyes, he seemed to see her still, her dark hair swept up from her forehead and put in place by a blue ribbon – her favourite, as she admitted to him – falling straight down her back, swinging freely to and fro in time with her natural, easy, graceful gait as she walked; her dark eyes brightening with mischief or mirth every time she tells a story – some funny anecdotes about her coworkers at the Akabeko, or her students at the dojo; and her smiling mouth which was still pleasing to look at even if it was motionless. He liked the feel of her arm linking with his, her body against his, a comfortable weight that felt like it was meant to be there.

At that last thought, Kenshin sat bolt upright. _Meant to be there?_ "Please, God, no," he whispered, burying his face in his hands. What was he doing? These absurd feelings have got to stop! What was he thinking of, feeling like that? Kaoru Kamiya certainly is not meant to be beside him, she's Akira's, for God's sake! He cursed aloud at the empty room. He must never, ever feel this way about Kaoru Kamiya.

"No more," he promised himself. "No more of this madness," for madness it could only be.

He'd rather die than take away something that belongs to Akira!

* * *

As soon as Kaoru got home, her phone rang. It was Akira.

"Oh, hey, Akira," she said. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to call you after my class. Something came up."

"Oh?" Akira replied. "Something good, I hope?"

Kaoru smiled as she deposited her bag on her bed. "Well, yeah, sort of," she admitted. "I think Kenshin's finally warming up to me."

"That's good!" Akira's satisfaction was evident in his tone. "What happened?"

Kaoru hesitated. Even if he denied it, Kenshin was definitely spying on her. It wasn't coincidence that he turned up in places that she would be in, and if she'll tell Akira that, who knows what will happen? "He…" she deliberated on an answer. "I found him walking past the dojo, so I caught up with him." She bit her lip. What a boldfaced lie. She never was good at lying, much more if it was Akira she was lying to.

"Yeah? Go on," he urged her.

She was a bit surprised by that. "Why does it sound like you aren't even surprised that he's there?" she burst out without thinking. A second later she smacked herself in the forehead. _Stupid! That'll open up to more awkward questions! _she thought.

"I'm not," she heard Akira reply. Then, "Oh, he didn't tell you?" He fell silent for a while, then mumbled, "Never mind that." In a brighter tone (a little too forced, in Kaoru's opinion), he asked, "So, what happened next?"

Kaoru was puzzled. "What is he supposed to tell me, Akira?"

"Don't mind me, I'm just thinking aloud," Akira waved off the subject too quickly.

"Akira…" she took on a menacing tone. "You've started the story, you continue it. You can't just leave it hanging like that."

"Well, you sure are interested, huh," he murmured.

"Don't tell me you're jealous," she teased. She heard him laugh.

"Me, jealous? Are you kidding?" he said, then he sobered. "Well, it's not my story to tell, Kaoru. Let's just leave it at that."

She wasn't satisfied, but she relented. "All right then."

* * *

"So, our stock prices went up by eight percent. That's good," Akira remarked as he pored through the annual marketing report he was reviewing together with Kenshin in his office.

Kenshin didn't say anything. Akira tried again. "Word about the construction of the new mall looks good," he said, stealing a quick glance at Kenshin. "The new workers you hired are reportedly doing well, so well that the engineer happily predicts that they're going to finish ahead of schedule." He paused, but all he got from Kenshin was a faint "That's good."

_This is the final straw_, Akira decided. "Kaoru's inviting us for lunch… at a restaurant called the Akabeko." Kenshin took one look at him, then returned his gaze to the report. "Not interested," he replied.

"What?" Akira burst out. "Why not?"

Kenshin turned a page. "I'm simply not interested," he said flatly.

"Not interested?" Akira repeated. "But you went there already!"

Kenshin stared back at him. Unthinkingly, he blurted out, "You knew?" Then, as understanding hit a second later, he muttered, "Oh. Of course." He dropped his gaze down at the report. "So you know that she's there. You can go alone, you know. You don't need to bring me along."

Akira leaned back on his chair. "You're impossible," he remarked. "And here I was thinking that you're getting along with Kaoru now. She doesn't seem apprehensive lately when we're talking about you, and I rather thought you were softening up when we're talking about her."

Kenshin raised an eyebrow. "Me? Softening up?"

"Well, yeah," Akira said defensively. "You don't have that suspicious edge in your voice whenever you're talking about her, so I thought you've finally accepted that she's my fiancée."

Kenshin's eyebrows knit together in irritation. "I have accepted that fact already! Must you doubt me?" He shut the report file with a snap. Throwing another irritated glance at Akira, he said, "All right, so I've changed. I now fully embrace the fact that Kaoru Kamiya is your fiancée and future wife, and I have no doubt anymore about your mutual happiness together." He stood up. "But I still don't want to join you for lunch right now, because I'll be busy."

He strode to the door and went out of Akira's office, leaving Akira bewildered about his harsh reaction.

* * *

Kaoru looked up the moment she saw Akira coming out of the elevators. She greeted him with her usual embrace and kiss, but when he threw his arm around her and guided her out of the building, she looked over her shoulder. "Isn't Kenshin going to join us?" she asked Akira.

A small smile touched Akira's lips as he answered, "He's too busy to join us, love."

"Oh," she just said in reply. Then, she added awkwardly, "It's a shame. Tsubame would have really liked to see him again."

"Don't let this get to you, Kaoru, love," Akira said. "He's just busy."

Kaoru couldn't help but reply, "Busy, or is he starting to avoid me again? To have doubts about me again?"

Akira pulled her closer. "He isn't," he tried to reassure her, but she only looked at him with a sad smile in reply.

* * *

Kenshin was still immersed in the details regarding the negotiations between the company and the Nishikawa group when Akira entered his office. He sat in his usual chair, but it was some time before Kenshin heard Akira speak.

"The engagement party's going to be three days from now, so it's going to become a little busier around here," Akira announced.

Still not keeping his eyes away from the paper in front of him, Kenshin remarked, "It's okay, you can focus on that party of yours. I'll take care of the business."

Akira's eyes narrowed, then he expelled a short, irritated breath. "You're so annoying when something's bothering you," he said irritably. "Why don't you just let it out and get it over with?"

Kenshin had looked up to him in surprise, but when he learned the reason why, he turned again to the papers he was reading. "Nothing's bothering me," he said nonchalantly.

"Are you sure?"

_No. _"Yes, I'm sure."

Akira looked at him searchingly, but Kenshin's face was impossible to decipher. "I thought I could see through you even when you're hiding something," he said in a softened tone. "But now, you're getting more difficult to figure out."

Kenshin turned to Akira. "I'm still the same person," he assured Akira, though he couldn't assure himself of it.

Akira heaved a sigh, then asked, "Tell me this, then. Why didn't you even mention that you spent some time with Kaoru?"

Kenshin stared at Akira. "What did she tell you?"

Akira ignored the question. "You know, I was happy that you were trying to get to know Kaoru well, because I've always felt the suspicion –well, it was more like _antipathy_ – that you initially felt for her. But I know that you wouldn't believe anything I say until you find out for yourself." He turned back at Kenshin. "I don't want you to simply accept Kaoru as my fiancée and future wife, as you put it. I want you to accept her as herself, not just somebody associated with me. So tell me, who is Kaoru Kamiya to you?"

Kenshin couldn't answer him.

After a few minutes, Akira sighed, then stood up to leave. "Of course, I need not say that we expect you to attend the party. Right, Kenshin?"

Kenshin nodded, and tried to smile. It did not reach his eyes. "I'll be there."

"Good," Akira said, then moved to open the door. Kenshin stopped him.

"Are you happy, Akira?" It was such a quiet question that Akira paused to hear more. When he didn't, and when he found Kenshin waiting for an answer, he simply smiled warmly. "I am," he replied. He took his hand off the knob and faced Kenshin again. "I'm happy that she's near me now, because for years, I've loved her from afar. Now I can love her better now that she's beside me."

Kenshin looked at him. "What do you mean?"

Akira walked closer. "Don't you remember that time when my parents sent us abroad? I made too much of a fuss about it. You wondered why, but I couldn't explain." He smiled. "Now I can."

He turned to the window, pensive. "Every day, I stopped by the library to be able to see her, to talk to her sometimes, at least, but I never got the courage to ask her out even for just one time. I didn't want to leave the library assistant without telling her my feelings. But I did, to my infinite regret. So when we met again one rainy day, the day we heard the news that my parents had died, instead of immersing into despair and misery, I found my unexpected ray of sunshine on that fateful day. I don't know what I would have done to myself if I had not met her again." He hesitated, then added, "The day I saw her again, I immediately thought of you. _This must have been like what Kenshin had felt when we took him in_ is what I thought." He turned to Kenshin. "That's why I thought you would understand what I felt about Kaoru."

Kenshin looked away. "Now I do."

Akira gazed at him for a while, then went to the door. Before leaving, he looked over Kenshin first. "I am happy, Kenshin. But I'll be fully happy if you are too."

As soon as Akira left, Kenshin expelled a long breath, leaned back into his leather chair, and closed his eyes. He never realized that it would be this difficult to fight against a newly acquired attraction! It had him grit his teeth against thoughts of Kaoru that periodically escaped his tight hold on them, and order back his mutinous body from following Akira and Kaoru a while ago and join them, merely for the sake of hearing Kaoru laugh again.

But...

"_Are you happy, Akira?"_

"_I am."_

He opened his eyes slowly. He had been extremely fortunate to even meet Akira, much less be taken in and cared for by his family. To even contemplate about his fiancée would be a sin against Akira's goodness.

_He said he's happy. Didn't you say you'd do anything to protect the Kiyosato family at whatever cost?_

_I will protect Akira … even from myself._

Kenshin returned with renewed vigor to the business at hand.

* * *

**Yeah. I know it's kinda lame that Akira's got a crush on Kaoru before… but well, that's how I saw Akira and Tomoe too... Oh well. (Nope, Fenris Jin, I think I've bitten off more than I can chew. I can only _try_ breaking Kenshin and Kaoru's chemistry through Akira, I think. It's a shot. I was too intrigued about the concept of Kaoru the one being crushed on this time. =))**

**Read and review please! =)**


	7. Engaged

***In honor of my new batch of kids. Not that they read anything like this, but still… =)**

* * *

"That's it for today, kids. Make sure you practice hard, because we're going to use that on our next lesson," Kaoru said, dismissing her students.

"Thank you, Kaoru-sensei," the children chimed, then went out of the dojo one by one. Kaoru watched them go, then started to fix some of the mess that they made.

"Kaoru-chan?" A soft voice startled her from her thoughts. She turned around.

"Oh, Mr. Tanaka, it's you," she said, recognizing immediately the man who was standing by the door. "Is everything all right at work?"

Mr. Tanaka nodded. "The job's going well, thanks," he replied.

"Good," Kaoru said absentmindedly, collecting her things from her personal space in the dojo.

"Let me walk you home then, Kaoru-chan," Mr. Tanaka offered, watching her as she locked up the dojo. "A woman like you all alone walking at night isn't a good idea."

Kaoru raised her eyebrow. "A woman like me doesn't need to be afraid of the dark. And you know me too well to be afraid for me, Mr. Tanaka," she said, laughing.

Mr. Tanaka shrugged. "Indulge an old man, Kaoru-chan."

So they walked together, side by side, so silently that Kaoru couldn't stand it. "All right, Mr. Tanaka," she said, rounding on the older man, "what is it that you want to tell me?"

Mr. Tanaka laughed. "You can't stand silence, can't you, Kaoru-chan?" he said. "Well, I was wondering how I was going to start the conversation, so thanks for that opening." He sighed deeply. "But honestly, even if you did provide the opening, it's still difficult to talk about it."

"Talk about what?" Kaoru asked.

He sighed again. Then, with the look that said _Let's just get it over with,_ he laid a hand on Kaoru's shoulder. "Please don't take what I'm about to say too badly on me. This is for your own good, believe me. What do you know about Mr. Kenshin Himura?"

Kaoru was surprised at the question. She thought for a while, then answered, "Nothing much, really. All I know is that he is Akira's best friend, adopted when he was about 15 or so. Why?"

Mr. Tanaka avoided her eyes. "Do you remember the urban legend about a man named Battousai?" When Kaoru nodded, he continued. "He was this assassin who killed silently but swiftly and was too wily for the police to be able to get evidence on him and lock him up once and for all." He looked at Kaoru. "Actually that wasn't an urban legend at all. Battousai really existed. I know that for a fact, because I was once part of the yakuza in which he belonged to."

"Mr. Tanaka," Kaoru whispered. "If your past is too painful to talk about, let's not."

He shook his head. "I have to finish. I wasn't anybody special, anyway, just one of the many foot soldiers of that yakuza, easily disposed and forgotten. That's why it was easy to escape. But before I escaped, I was able to have a glimpse of the Battousai that I mentioned a while ago.

"He was young, Kaoru, much too young to have seen bloodshed, much less cause it. He started early, about 10, and he was perfect, because nobody would have suspected a _child_ to be a killer. But he was." Mr. Tanaka bowed his head. "Up til now I still don't understand how a child like that had been drawn into the yakuza and become its hitokiri in the shadows."

"Why are you telling me all this, Mr. Tanaka?" Kaoru asked, a sense of foreboding turning her heart cold.

Mr. Tanaka heaved a deep sigh. "Because the Battousai had red hair, bright violet eyes, and a cross-shaped scar on his cheek. Just like…" he hesitated. "Just like Mr. Himura."

They both fell silent. Then Kaoru burst out laughing. "Come on, Mr. Tanaka, you can't be serious!"

He didn't share her mirth. "All I'm saying is I recognize Mr. Himura, Kaoru-chan. If he really is the Battousai, then you have to be careful. All right?"

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at Mr. Tanaka. "But now that you work for him, do you think he is still dangerous?"

He looked confused. Then he shrugged and said, "I just think I recognize him, Kaoru, there's no need for you to make fun of me like this. All right, so I work for him. That doesn't lessen my suspicion about him, and even if he seems changed, I still will have my doubts about him."

Kaoru smiled. "But Akira trusts him, Mr. Tanaka, and where Akira trusts, I trust too. No matter who he was before, I accept him with all my heart." She winked at him. "Everyone can have one or two little secrets in his past, right?"

* * *

"This certainly is an unexpected surprise," exclaimed Mrs. Nitta to her circle of friends. They were all at the Crown Hotel, where she was invited by her nephew, Akira, to attend his engagement party. She turned to Kenshin, who was lounging at the edge of her notice. "Mr. Himura, were you also surprised at your friend's sudden decision?"

"Not as you apparently are, ma'am," Kenshin replied in an effort to be cordial.

"If his parents were here, they would've died of surprise all over again." She raised her glass. "God rest their souls."

"If his parents were here, ma'am, they would've been happy that their only son has finally decided to settle down," Kenshin countered icily, no longer attempting to be friendly.

"But still, to marry a _nobody_," she said, with a not-so-subtle emphasis on the word nobody, "they must be disappointed in his choice of a wife."

"As I recall, that wasn't at all the case when he chose his friends," he replied caustically. "Why should a wife be any different?"

"Ah, of course," Mrs. Nitta conceded, her small eyes glittering malevolently at Kenshin. He turned away, and left the old widow to gossip and speculate more about Akira's fiancée.

He snatched up another glass of champagne from a passing waiter and downed its contents in one gulp. _Why is the old harridan even here?_ he thought disgustedly. Mrs. Nitta was Mrs. Kiyosato's aunt, which obviously earned her entrance to whatever her grandnephew was about, but she was a spiteful old lady bent on sowing venom and malice wherever she went.

Expelling a short breath, Kenshin replaced his empty glass and took another one. As he looked over the guests gathered in the hall, he couldn't help but feel apprehensive and at the same time indifferent about the sense of wealth and superiority these people had. Like Mrs. Nitta, they put too much emphasis on how much money they had, or what kind of social circles they were frequenting, that often they neglect the value of things like friendship and respect. Kaoru Kamiya certainly has her work cut out for her with these kinds of people, he thought wryly.

_But then again, with her personality and Akira's love, I think she'll be fine._

A commotion at the main entrance made Kenshin turn away from these thoughts. As if by magic, or by common, unspoken consensus, the crowd parted to make way for Akira and Kaoru's entrance. Amazement almost made Kenshin loosen his grip on his champagne glass. Whatever people were saying about Kaoru Kamiya before now, it evidently stopped dead in its tracks.

Kaoru was a goddess in her midnight blue Grecian gown, which displayed her feminine curves to an advantage. As she walked, silvery threads sparkled on her gown, twinkling in time with her movement. She wore no jewelry on her arms and throat, just a pair of teardrop shaped opal earrings that complemented her gown and her glittering dark eyes. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a loose chignon, leaving some strands of hair curling over her ears. She was simply beautiful.

They made a handsome pair, Akira and Kaoru. If these people ever thought that her lack of consequence made her unworthy to stand beside him, her obvious regard for him, as evident from the sparkle in her eye as she looked towards him, her arm linked on his, her light step synchronizing with his, certainly made her worthy to be his future bride, the future Mrs. Kiyosato.

He had to turn away from the sight to ease the pain that suddenly shot up his heart.

"My dear friends," Akira addressed them all, "here now is the day which both my honoured parents would have dearly loved to see. After pestering me so much about choosing a wife and settling down, they would have breathed out a sigh of relief as I present to you now my future wife, Ms. Kaoru Kamiya."

A thunderous applause broke at Akira's words, and he had to raise his hand to say more. "Most of you might have been surprised at how fast our decision to marry has been. Kenshin certainly was," he said, spotting Kenshin at a nearby window. The audience laughed and some eyes flickered over to where Kenshin was, who studiously avoided all those eyes.

Akira continued. "You shouldn't be. You should wonder _why only now? _Because I have certainly asked myself that after meeting this precious jewel of a person one cold rainy day. And thank God she lent me an umbrella." The audience laughed again. Taking a champagne glass from a waiter, he raised it toward Kaoru and said, "A toast then, to the next Mrs. Kiyosato." Everybody followed his lead, Kenshin not in the least.

"To your health and happiness both," he murmured, raising his glass to his lips and letting the smooth taste of the bubbly champagne wash over his mouth, silently wishing that it could also wash away the tinge of pain in his heart.

* * *

"I thought I'd be able to find you here," Akira's voice made Kenshin turn to face him.

"It's getting crowded there," he replied, turning back to the balcony and leaning on his elbows against the ledge.

"Say rather that you don't like these kinds of parties," Akira chuckled, "because you have to put up with the overbearing elite society."

Kenshin raised his glass. "That too," he acknowledged wryly.

The light breeze blew all around them. "That was a nice speech you made," Akira said, looking over at Kenshin's shadowy profile. Kenshin just took a sip of champagne and said nothing.

A while ago, he was pressed by some of their other friends to make a speech for the newly engaged couple. Normally disliking any kind of public speaking, he therefore didn't know what kind of devil possessed him to come up to the microphone and oblige these well-meaning friends.

"Ever since I've known Akira Kiyosato as a friend," Kenshin began, "I've always believed that he was too good to be true." In response to the chuckles that greeted that pronouncement, he explained, "I meant that nothing could ever match his goodness and – handsome looks, I suppose," he joked, much to the delight of the audience, "so God possibly took that as a challenge and sent him an angel instead." He paused, taking a long swallow from him champagne glass. This kind of confidence is definitely alcohol induced, he thought.

"_So now you're not alone, Akira," he said, and raised his almost empty glass at them both. "You were meant to be together. You deserve each other, and I, as your best friend, will make sure that this angel of yours stays at your side, and that no one, no one," he waved his arm towards the audience, "will take her away from you."_

"_Including you?" A voice chirped up._

_Kenshin barked a laugh. "Especially me," he said, half-laughingly, half seriously. He looked at Akira. "You deserve happiness, my friend, and I'm glad you finally found it." He joined the crowd in another toast for them both, then promptly stepped off the platform, passed the microphone to somebody else, and immediately sought the air that the balcony afforded._

Now, as they both stood, looking at the night sky, with the waxing moon shining down on them, they were both evidently dwelling on the sentiments of that speech, Akira on the strength of brotherly love that he had inspired in Kenshin, and Kenshin himself, on that same principle trying to deaden his stubborn emotions and forcing himself on the self-denial he had been practicing all these years.

Akira broke the silence at length. "When I first saw you, I was just looking for a friend. I had been bullied at my school lots of times because… well, I was the rich kid, but I was the nerdy kid too. They all saw me as the spoiled brat, stereotyped me as a sissy and dared me to cry home to my powerful dad. I've had enough of the hate and most especially the loneliness, so I did what any normal 14-year-old would do: run away from it all." He smiled. "A childish act, come to think of it, but then, I was a child. I thought nobody else could have a worse situation than I had – then I met you."

Kenshin barked a laugh. "I thought you were the stupidest person on the planet. Imagine, you dared to lie to someone who looked as menacing as the devil himself! I thought I was done for, that _he_ would see through you and find me out in my hiding place."

Akira laughed with him. "Well, to tell you the truth, my knees were shaking then! I did think that too, but luckily, maybe he was as stupid as me." Then he looked over at Kenshin. "But I knew I had to do what I did. I saw it in your eyes. You needed saving, just like I did. Maybe you needed to be saved more than I did, from loneliness."

Kenshin swallowed hard, but he couldn't speak after that. Akira saw that, and kindly gave him a gentle pat on the back. Then he spoke again.

"Kaoru and I were agreeing just a while ago that nobody would be better to be the best man like you will be," he said.

Kenshin finally found his voice. "Anything for you," he said absentmindedly. A second later, as the meaning hit him, he turned on Akira. "Best man? Me?"

"Yes of course," Akira said. "Nothing would make us happier than the presence of such a good friend. I would definitely need you by my side when Kaoru walks down the aisle."

Kenshin turned back to the sky. "Sure," he said simply.

Akira sighed, but it was a sigh of contentment. "If l could only see you as happy as I am now, my happiness would be complete," he said, smiling at Kenshin with such bliss that it hurt Kenshin to see more of it.

"I doubt that," Kenshin replied. "I have to be as good as you are in order for me to be as happy as you are." He clapped Akira in the back good-naturedly. "I'll have my own happiness," he assured him, "but you take care of your own, and save her from the clutches of our dear Mrs. Nitta."

They both turned to Kaoru's direction, who was indeed talking with Mrs. Nitta. Akira laughed. "I suppose you're right," he said, and left Kenshin once again standing solitary in the balcony, wrapped in the darkness of the night.

* * *

**This has been a longer chapter than I've originally written. I do hope this is not becoming too much of a bromance between Kenshin and Akira… hahaha…**

***If you recognized it, I've always liked that quote from **_**Pride and Prejudice.**_** Which is very true indeed. So there's no reason for anybody to be jealous of anything. Anyway, just rambling on… =)**

**Read and review please!=)**


	8. Separate Things

It was simply too stifling inside the crowded hall. Kaoru looked around for somewhere to escape to for a few minutes, and found that some sliding doors lead to the balcony. She nudged Akira, who was sitting beside her, and whispered, "I'll just step out for some fresh air." He smiled, nodded, and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. "Don't be too long," he whispered back.

As soon as she could get away from well-wishers and various other people, she stepped out on the balcony and let the night air surround her. The first blast of cold wind made her shiver, but gradually she became accustomed to the cold. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, but just as soon as she opened them, she heard Kenshin's voice behind her.

"Still without a coat, I see," Kenshin said in a light tone, his violet eyes touched with a hint of amusement at her obvious surprise. Shrugging off his black velvet coat, he started to drape it like a cloak across Kaoru's shoulders.

"I'm not that cold," she protested as she tried to pull it back, but his hands stopped her.

"You're going to catch a cold with that kind of clothing here," he replied.

"Aren't you in the same danger?" she returned archly. Kenshin just laughed. Despite herself, she pulled the coat closer, feeling the warmth that it still retained from his body.

"That's better," he said, his hands releasing her shoulders. After a pulse beat of silence, he began, "I heard you finally took Akira to the Akabeko."

Kaoru looked at him and smiled. "Thanks to you," she said. "All my worries were wasted on him, because he didn't get mad at me for a bit." She laughed softly at a memory. "He was even amused by the uniform I wore, saying I should wear clothes like that more often."

"Well, you did look… nice in your uniform," Kenshin said, looking sideways at her. "I wouldn't have recognized you if you didn't speak."

"Thank you, I think," Kaoru said, and turned her eyes to the stars. Kenshin just quietly took a sip from his champagne glass.

Then they were silent again, admiring the night lights of the city – or at least pretending to, anyway. Kaoru couldn't help but steal furtive glances at Kenshin's face, wondering what kind of thoughts were passing through his inscrutable mind, hidden in the depths of those deep lilac eyes of his.

She remembered what Mr. Tanaka said. _Be careful._ But as she looked at his profile, the striking red hair that reached up until his nape and the pensive violet eyes that Mr. Tanaka described as the Battousai, the assassin's trademark appearance, she didn't feel fearful of him at all. Rather, she thought she could see a veiled sadness about him, brought about by the loneliness in his eyes and the mouth that could only smile without any hint of real joy.

Those same eyes caught hers in the act of looking at him. She blushed and quickly looked away. She heard a soft chuckle. "Is there something wrong with my face?" Kenshin teased gently.

"No," she replied, a bit hastily. Then, sighing, she explained, "I can't figure you out."

"What do you mean?"

She faced him. "The first time I met you –"

"In the cab," Kenshin supplied. Kaoru smiled.

"Yes, in the cab," she repeated, "you seemed like a nice enough person. Imagine, sharing a cab with someone you don't know, and then paying for them too!"

Kenshin shrugged. "I was too much in a hurry to be too cautious about people then."

Kaoru continued. "But when you knew that I was Akira's fiancée, you got mad at me, right?" Kenshin nodded. "I think "mad" was even an understatement. You looked so furious that I was fearful for my life then."

Kenshin laughed. "Really? I gave you that impression?"

Kaoru wagged a finger at him. "Don't tell me you didn't mean to. I really think you did want to kill me then, right?" A second later, she wanted to smack herself in the head, hard. _Way to go, Kaoru. Nice choice of words!_

To her infinite relief, Kenshin just laughed in reply. "There. I thought so," muttered Kaoru.

"Akira took me by surprise, that's all," he explained. "I was worried he was rushing into things without thinking."

"You're overprotective of him, aren't you?" Kaoru said.

Kenshin picked up his glass again and sipped his champagne. "I guess so," he agreed. "But that's just what I promised myself I would do for him." He turned to her. "He saved me, in many ways than one. But how about you? Why did you agree with Akira to marry after such a short time of knowing him?"

Kaoru looked away from Kenshin's penetrating gaze. "I don't know, really," she admitted. "I just felt that it was the best decision I can ever make for myself." She glanced back at Kenshin. "And not because he's rich, and all that. Honestly, the first time I saw him, I didn't know he was… this rich. He was outside the dojo, under a tree, soaked to the bone, like a drowned chick, looking as miserable as possible." Kenshin glanced at her with a questioning look in his eyes, but didn't say anything. Kaoru, though, missed that look, as she was lost in other thoughts.

She smiled, and continued. "Why he was there, I never bothered to ask, because I only felt sorry for the poor guy so I lent him my umbrella. As repayment, he asked me out, and I surprised myself when I accepted. In the next days, next meetings that we've had together, I got to know him more." She laughed. "I couldn't believe it when he said he's had a crush on me since college!"

Kenshin smiled. "Yeah, he mentioned that."

"He's unassuming, fun to be with, and at the same time, philosophical at times. You'd know this about him, right?" Kenshin nodded. "Altogether, he is a good man."

Kenshin gave a small smile. "And you a lucky woman to have found him."

"Lucky?" Kaoru mused. "Yes, I think I'm that lucky. I've always had that kind of luck where everything turns out right." She smiled brightly at him. "Don't you think so?"

Kenshin smiled back and looked toward the skyline without really looking at anything in particular.

"So why did we decide to marry after only nine months of dating?" Kaoru sneaked a playful glance at Kenshin. "I know you've been burning to ask me this question."

"It has never left my mind," Kenshin replied. "I know Akira's side of the story, but I don't know yours." He faced her. "Akira loves you. I know and accept this already. But I want to be assured that his passion won't lead him in anything that would give him pain."

Kaoru stared back at him. "Because I will answer to you if that happens?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"You're scary." Kaoru looked away from him and back to the city skyline. "Then I'll make sure not to do that." She glanced down at her hands. "To set your mind at ease, I do love Akira. He was the first to touch my heart with his goodness and his humility. Before I met him, I didn't have anyone else in this world. My parents have left me, and I don't have any family left. I have my work and my students, but it wasn't enough to take away the emptiness in my heart. With Akira, I feel complete. I don't feel lonely anymore, and I could now look to the future with confidence with him by my side." She stole a glimpse at him. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

This time, Kenshin was the one who looked away. "Yes," he replied, "I think I do."

"Akira gave meaning to this empty life of mine, with his offer of love and security," she continued. "I won't do anything to destroy that. Instead, I want to repay his infinite kindness with my gratitude and love for him." She turned to him. "That's also why I have to know what you think about me," she said. "I love him, but I don't want him to lose his best friend. From what I understand, Akira treats you like a brother, even, not just a friend."

Kenshin sipped his champagne again. "It doesn't matter what I think, anymore," he replied. "I may be his friend, his brother, but I won't stand in the way of his happiness." He turned to her. "And I believe that you are his happiness." He smiled slightly.

"So are we friends now then?" Kaoru asked.

Kenshin was silent. Her eyes gazed at him with such sincerity that he had to look away again. "I'm Akira's best friend. You're Akira's fiancée. I think that's how it should stay."

Kaoru frowned a bit. "So that's how it's going to be between us? The best friend and the fiancée? That's it?"

He whirled at her. "What do you want from me, Kaoru?" he snapped. "What do you want me to do? I want to keep my distance, so why don't you let me?" He turned his gaze again to the horizon. "I'll still be Akira's friend, but I can't be your friend too."

Kaoru felt as if somebody punched her in the gut, but she merely breathed out to soothe the feeling. "Why?"

"Why what?" he countered angrily.

"Why do you want to keep your distance from me, Kenshin? Have I done anything wrong to you?"

Kenshin turned to glare at her, but when he saw tears glittering in her eyes, he was taken aback. She was biting her lip to try to stop them from falling, but it was no use. Before he could open his mouth to reply, she turned away from him.

"Okay, I get it," she said. "You don't want to have anything to do with me. I get it." She raised a hand to roughly wipe away the tears that fell unexpectedly. She wanted to just walk away, and did take a few steps forward, but a nagging question burned at the back of her mind. She turned around to face him again.

"Just so we're clear—" she began, but she never got to finish the question because, unfortunately, she stepped on the hem of her gown and lost her balance. With a cry, she tried to hold on to the balcony ledge to support herself but slipped. She shut her eyes and braced herself for the pain…

But there was none.

Because when Kaoru opened her eyes, Kenshin was there, holding her up. He was too close to her, too close for her to feel his steady heartbeat, the strength in his arms, and the warmth of his body. She could also see an indistinct cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. Distracted by it despite herself, despite the situation she was now in, she gasped. _The cross-shaped scar that Mr. Tanaka mentioned!_ She started to raise her finger to touch it, but Kenshin noticed. His jaw drew taut, and he raised himself and her to a proper standing position. "Could you be careful please?" he snapped.

"Sorry," Kaoru replied weakly. To avoid his narrowed eyes that anticipated another fall from her, she self-consciously smoothed out her gown for any imagined wrinkles. When she finished, she found him looking at her intently. But this time, he was looking at her not with caution, or indifference, or dislike, but he was looking at her with softened eyes, with an emotion that she couldn't quite place.

"I'm sorry too, Kaoru," Kenshin whispered. "I appreciate your efforts, but I can't be able to explain myself without hurting the one person I esteem, I value, the most. Can't we just leave it like that?"

Before Kaoru could respond, much less figure out what Kenshin just said, Akira appeared from behind the curtains.

"Kaoru!" he said. "There you are." He walked over to where Kaoru was and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. Kaoru, though, while acknowledging Akira's kiss, couldn't help but notice the guard that went up again in Kenshin's eyes before he moved away.

Akira noticed Kenshin's presence. "Kenshin," he turned to him. "Why are you still here?"

Kenshin shrugged. "I was diagnosed as an antisocial type of person," He met Kaoru's eyes at the word _antisocial_.

Akira laughed and turned to Kaoru. "Come," he said, holding up a hand for her, "let's now finish up the party so everyone can go home."

"Okay," Kaoru replied, taking Akira's hand. Noticing that she still had Kenshin's coat on her, she pulled it off and handed it over to Kenshin. "Thanks for the coat, again, and…"

Kenshin quickly took his coat from her, cutting off whatever she was about to say. "No problem," he said, averting his eyes from her.

"You go in too," Akira said to Kenshin as he led Kaoru out of the balcony.

"Probably later," Kenshin replied. When he saw them go in the room again, he turned his back.

That was too close, he thought. Too close for comfort. Never again will he be close to Kaoru like that. It just shouldn't happen. He slipped in his coat that still retained Kaoru's body warmth and a scent of jasmine that he definitely did not have as perfume. In disgust, he tore the coat away again from his body and threw it on the ledge, but that didn't help take away the scent. He snatched up the champagne glass and gulped down the last of its contents, wishing that it was something stronger, enough to wash away this fine torture on his senses.

He heard first Akira's voice, then Kaoru's. Listening to their voices made him hold his breath, finally breathing out when he couldn't hear it anymore. He sighed harshly, more out of frustration than anything. It was as if he could still hear Kaoru's wounded voice saying "You don't want to have anything to do with me anymore."

_I'm Akira's friend, _Kenshin thought miserably._ You're Akira's fiancée. That's the way it should stay._

* * *

**Read and review, please! =)**


	9. A Brick Wall

Everything was on a regular train now. The bustle of engagement over, it was now time to think of the wedding itself. Flowers, food, invites, all the little details accompanying a wedding occupied most of Akira's time now, but, busy as he was, a smile could never be far from his face for long, as Kenshin had noticed. It could easily turn into a laugh sometimes, even when they were alone, and nothing was even funny. It most especially lights up Akira's face whenever Kaoru was around, which was as much as both their time could allow. It was as if a well of happiness sprung from Akira, and Kaoru was the source.

Times like that constantly reinforced Kenshin's guard, like extra cement put on a brick wall. Sometimes, he could almost deceive himself that he could withstand Kaoru's presence. He decided that between Kaoru and him there would simply be a civil exchange of words, nothing more, because he could not let it be more than that. Led by his example, Kaoru wasn't talking to him much, only when they were in the presence of Akira. With Akira there, they had to pretend that they had something more than the usual civilities between the groom's friend and the bride, and though at times he could see the pretension irritate Kaoru, for him, it was like a second skin, a mask, placed over his features to cover up the emotions that he was desperate to suppress, for the sake of the happiness of the one who had turned his life around.

Much as he'd like to avoid them (especially _her_) though, he can't, because, after all, he is the best man in the wedding. So it wasn't a surprise – not really – that he could also be sent on errands pertaining to the wedding.

"Mr. Himura, Mr. Kiyosato is on line one," his secretary informed him one morning. Kenshin picked up the receiver and pressed the button. "Yes?"

"Hey Kenshin," Akira whispered. "I need a favor here."

"Why are you whispering?" Kenshin asked.

"Because I'm about to get stuck in this meeting that's gonna take me _hours _again. You know how it is with stockholder meetings," Akira explained. "Anyway, could you fill in for me? Kaoru's having her dress fitted, and we planned to be there together, but this meeting slipped my mind."

"I can fill in for you in that meeting, if you like?" Kenshin offered as he rubbed his temples to ease the headache. _Anything to avoid _that!

"No, you've been doing too much of my work nowadays," Akira said. "Besides, I'm not supposed to see the bride in the wedding dress, it's bad luck, isn't it?"

His headache was growing worse. "So why did you plan to do this together again?"

"I'm curious, okay? So, what, yes, you'll do it?"

"Akira—"

"Please, Kenshin? Then later you can fill me in with how she looks."

"Can't I just take a picture?"

"No! Bad luck, remember?"

Kenshin shook his head. "I don't understand what it is you want from me." He sighed. "All right. Fine."

"See you then."

* * *

Kaoru was startled when she saw Kenshin walking towards her in the lobby. She stood up. "What happened? Why are you…"

Kenshin shrugged. "He's in a meeting right now, so he sent me as a substitute."

"Oh," Kaoru said. She fingered her shoulder bag self-consciously. After that incident in the balcony of the Crown, she felt a little awkward being with Kenshin in one place again. "Well, you don't need to come with me, you know. I know you're busy too—"

Kenshin cut her off. "He told me to go with you, and here I am. My work can wait."

Kaoru was doubtful. "Are you sure you're going to be all right with this? We're going to a _dress shop_."

He gestured for her to walk toward where his car was parked outside. He ushered her in before getting into the driver's seat. As they drove away, he asked, in reply to her question, "Did you ask Akira about him being comfortable going with you too?"

"Yes," she replied. "Honestly, I can go alone. But Akira was the one who insisted that he accompany me. Seeing as he sent you instead, it only proves that in the end, he wasn't comfortable with the idea." Kenshin opened his mouth, but she noticed. "And don't defend him against that."

"He's just caught up in a meeting," Kenshin said. "I'm sure if given a chance, he'd be with you in a heartbeat."

"Are you going to be all right, though?" she repeated the question.

He scowled at her, but she remained unfazed. "What do you mean by that?"

"You know what I mean," she retorted. "You alone know what I mean."

Kenshin fell silent. The last time they met was on his mind in a flash. "Yes, I do know," he answered, finally, after a long pause. "And I am going to be all right with it, don't worry."

* * *

"Ah, Mademoiselle Kamiya, come, come," said the modiste, Madame Gilles, as soon as Kaoru and Kenshin entered the dress shop. The spacious room showcased different dresses for various occasions, but fortunately there was one large sofa that visitors could sit on. That was where they were directed before Kaoru would be ushered into the fitting rooms.

"Your wedding dress is near to completion already, my dear, and we only need you for a final fitting," the modiste explained, a touch of French accenting every word. She looked at Kenshin. "He is not your bridegroom, is he?" she asked Kaoru.

Kaoru smiled. "Worse. The best man," she said playfully. "Why? You aren't superstitious, are you Madame?"

The modiste shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, it won't hurt, my dear." She whirled at Kenshin, who was startled by the menacing look she gave him. "You are sworn to secrecy, Monsieur—"

"Kenshin," he supplied.

"—Monsieur Kenshin," she continued, "even if you are the bridegroom's friend."

"But I was supposed to—"

"No," the modiste said with finality. She led Kaoru to the fitting rooms, but before they were entirely covered by curtains, she shot another intimidating glare at him. "Secrecy, Monsieur."

Kenshin threw his hands up. "All right!"

"Good," the modiste replied. "Now, if you please, you will tell us your opinion as soon as Mademoiselle gets changed."

Kenshin merely nodded as they finally disappeared behind the curtains of the dressing room. Without their presence though, a feeling of foolishness occupied Kenshin's mind. _Here I am, a male, in the middle of women's clothing._ What devil possessed him to do this?

His cellphone rang. Looking at the display, he saw that it was Akira.

"Hey," Akira's tone was too bright for his irritated nerves.

"This is a set up," Kenshin stated flat out.

Laughter filled his ears, reinforcing Kenshin's nagging suspicion. "I can't believe I fell for that," he chided himself. "You just wait, Akira Kiyosato."

"I wasn't lying to you when I said we planned to see the dress together," Akira explained, mirth still evident from his tone. "She wanted me to see her dress too, but of course, what kind of judge am I? Everything she wears is perfect for me. Besides, a male, in a dress shop? Dresses aren't my forte."

"You think it's mine?" Kenshin fumed. He heard laughter again.

"I think you're more… critical than me," Akira explained. "Anyway, Kaoru doesn't like to be alone, much, most especially in this one important moment in her life."

"Doesn't she have friends?" Kenshin asked sullenly. "Why me? I told you I can handle the meeting for you, so why me, and not you?"

"Do I have to explain, Kenshin?" Akira sighed. "I want the two most important persons in my world to be close to each other as well, so this is the perfect opportunity to do it. Despite what you said, I still want to see that closeness in the two of you."

Kenshin merely let out a harsh breath. "_This_ is unnecessary, Akira. Why are you so adamant about seeing us together anyway? I won't get jealous if you spend more time with Kaoru than with me, if you're worried about that."

"It's not that, Kenshin," Akira sighed rather heavily, then his tone brightened again. "So, how does she look?"

"How should I know?" Kenshin almost shouted at Akira. "They're still in the dressing room!"

As if on cue, the curtains parted and Kaoru emerged from the dressing room.

"So, monsieur, your comments?" the modiste prompted him.

Kenshin's heart jumped somewhere in the middle of his throat, making him breathless as he was transfixed by the apparition that was Kaoru. It was just a simple, creamy white, off-shouldered gown, strewn with seed pearls here and there, with intricately embroidered sleeves that tapered down her arms, nothing too extravagant, or too fine, but Kaoru looked ethereal in it.

He had to swallow back his heart. "Perfect," he almost choked.

"Oh?" he heard Akira whisper in his ear. That threw a cold bucket of water on him. He held the cellphone tightly against his ear. "Yes, she is. I think your trick backfired on you, Akira. You should have been here." He clicked off the cellphone and slid it back into his pocket.

Kaoru gaped at him. "Was that Akira?" she said.

Kenshin nodded. "He was checking up on me. And you."

The modiste wagged a finger at him. "Monsieur, what did I tell you? Secrecy!"

"Yes, I know. I didn't tell him anything else other than what you heard."

She clucked. "And you aren't exactly generous with your compliments, you know."

Kenshin shrugged. "I'm not a wordy-type of person."

Kaoru smiled and turned to the mirror. "Do you think Akira will like this?"

Kenshin stood up and, looking at Kaoru's radiant face, said quietly, "You're always perfect in his eyes, Kaoru, just the way you are."

As Kaoru and the modiste talked about minor adjustments to the dress and what-nots, Kenshin glanced at his reflection in the mirror, visible behind Kaoru. Behind that radiant happiness, he decided, I should always stay. The guard was up, and it kept going higher and higher to shut himself out from these treacherous feelings that tried to steal into his limping heart.

* * *

After she had finished up all the necessary details with Madame Gilles, she looked in on Kenshin from the receiving area and found him quietly sleeping.

She took a few steps closer. Kenshin's soft sigh and his closed eyes were the only indication that he was asleep; she figured he couldn't help the impulse and just let his eyes naturally close and his head dip down his chest. He had his arms crossed over his chest, really as if he didn't intend to fall asleep, legs stretched out before him comfortably. His mouth twitched sometimes in reaction to whatever he dreamed about, but other than that he wasn't moving much else.

In repose, he was just like a child, carefree and innocent-looking. He had now none of those suspicious, brooding, melancholy looks that always surrounded him whenever they met each other. Kaoru heaved a deep sigh at the thought that he only found his peace, his calmness, when he was asleep.

Even if she couldn't understand the nature of his dislike of her, even if he made it clear that he didn't want to have anything to do with her, nevertheless, she still felt drawn to him. She felt a soft pull on her heart towards the man who would choose to be alone even when offered the society of others. She somehow understood those feelings because when her father died, she felt completely lonely even in the midst of a crowd. Akira's love saved her from that, but from what she saw of Kenshin, she felt that receiving the same love from Akira didn't save Kenshin fully. She could only suppose that the burden of his past was that heavy for him to completely forget it, and ultimately to continue weighing him down and closing himself off from the world. That thought drew on another deep sigh from Kaoru.

Realizing though that she may have been staring at him for too long, she moved closer to wake him up. She leaned forward and gave his shoulder a gentle tap. "Wake up, Kenshin," she called out softly.

Kenshin opened his eyes abruptly at her touch. "Kaoru," he breathed out, and then let out a sigh as he uncrossed his arms and sat up straighter. "I'm sorry for falling asleep. I didn't even notice, I thought I was just closing my eyes."

Kaoru smiled. "No apologies needed. You need to take a nap every now and then, I suppose, to support your growing needs."

"Ha ha. Very funny, Kaoru," Kenshin retorted, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and cupping his face with his hands. "I've just had this headache since this morning, so I thought I was simply shutting it out by closing my eyes." He raised his head and looked up at her. "Are you done here?"

Kaoru nodded. "Just a while ago. So, let's go now then? You to your office and me to the dojo."

Kenshin sighed. "All right then." He stood up and then momentarily lost his balance. Kaoru was quick enough to hold one of his arms and keep him steady.

"Hey, are you all right?" she asked in concern. He simply nodded in reply, then winced at the slight spinning of his vision that that simple gesture brought about. "I'm fine," he croaked, then tried to pull his arm away from her, but she did not let him.

Kaoru noticed beads of sweat against his neck and raised her free hand to touch his face. He jumped at her touch. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"You're burning up! Why didn't you say anything?" Kaoru reproached him. She led him, slowly but painstakingly, to where his car was parked. "Where are your keys? I'll drive you home."

He again tried to wrench his arm away from her, but she clung to it steadfastly. "I can manage," he said.

Kaoru's brows knitted together. "You can barely stand without my help, so keep quiet and I'll drive you to your home."

Kenshin opened his mouth to protest, but, seeing the stern look in Kaoru's eyes, gave up, shook his head, and surrendered his keys to her.


	10. Dreams, Nightmares

It was tough work, but Kaoru managed to half-drag, half-carry the weakening Kenshin in her arms. When they reached his apartment, Kenshin literally fell asleep on his bed, fully clothed. All she could do was to take off his shoes and socks, pull the covers over him, and let him sleep in peace. She touched his forehead. It was hot, so she decided to get a basin and cloth to try to cool him down.

As she waited for the basin to fill, she glanced over Kenshin's place. If a person's house reflects their way of living, then Kaoru has just one word for him: Spartan. The apartment was furnished with just what a man living alone could need (though she wasn't sure if the large flatscreen TV dominating the living room was really necessary) but that was just it. Everything was gray or black and white in his house, from the marble floors to the white ceiling with the crystal chandelier, that probably the only splash of color that the house gets was Kenshin's scarlet hair.

Kaoru went back to the bedroom. Kenshin was breathing heavily, but so far, it was still normal. If the house was a reflection of who he was, then Kenshin's world is a melancholic world, indeed. There were no photographs, not even in his own bedroom, not even of him or Akira, to prove that he had a social life outside work. She sighed in sympathy as she looked over his sleeping form. Beyond Akira, she didn't believe he had any other friends, probably because he was wilfully rejecting each and everyone who came in his path. _Look at me,_ she thought ruefully. But as her thought tempered, she also thought his past as Battousai was probably haunting him still.

She was starting to wipe Kenshin's forehead when her cellphone rang. It was Akira.

"Where are you?" he impatiently demanded of her. "I thought I would be able to catch up and pick you and Kenshin up at the dress shop, but evidently you weren't there."

"I'm sorry, Akira, Kenshin was too ill to stay there longer, so I decided to take him home immediately," she replied.

A short silence followed. "What? Kenshin, sick? Is the sky falling?" Akira laughed.

"Please be serious, Akira," Kaoru admonished him. "He really is, believe it or not. He's having a fever right now, and I have to stay here and take care of him."

"I'll be there later," Akira said. "I'll be stopping by with some food for us three."

_Okay, fine, just this once, I admit I can't cook,_ Kaoru thought, irked. "All right," she could only reply. "And will you pick up some medicines too? Kenshin isn't well stocked with first aid kits here."

"As I said, Kenshin falling sick is like the world coming to an end," Akira said. "Take good care of him, Kaoru, for me."

Kaoru smiled into her phone. "Of course, Akira." After saying their customary goodbyes, she hung up the phone. She looked up to see Kenshin quietly observing her.

"You can go, you know," he said. "I can take care of myself."

Kaoru raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? You can't always do things on your own. Sometimes, someone has to take care of you to make you feel better."

In reply, Kenshin pulled up the sheets and turned away from her. "Suit yourself," he muttered, and closed his eyes. In a minute, he was asleep.

Kaoru smiled at his back. Even someone as hard-headed as Kenshin would need somebody sometime.

* * *

_In his mind, he could see their faces again._

_A round, chubby one with eyes like slits due to obesity. Another one, long, thin, and with slanted eyes and a sharp nose. Still another, an old man's, grey hair filling the head and around his mouth in a short beard and moustache. And a great many others, almost featureless, but definitely all sharing the same trait._

_They all had eyes that were wide in fear._

_In them, he could see his reflection. Red hair, a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, and cold violet eyes that gazed down on them pitilessly as the glint of a sword took the place of his reflection in their eyes._

_A scream._

_Then silence. And solitude._

_Then he smelled the scent of blood first. Tasted it. And then he found that he was drenched in it._

* * *

Kenshin tossed and turned in his fevered sleep. It made it difficult for Kaoru, who was nursing him, to wipe down his face, arms, and upper body to try to cool him down. It also made it difficult for Akira, who was helping Kaoru, to try to hold him down while Kaoru was wiping him down.

Every now and then, Kenshin would give a whimpering cry, mumbling words they couldn't understand, but always laced with pain. Kaoru looked over at Akira whenever it happened, and always, she found him glancing at Kenshin as if feeling his pain himself.

"Oh, Kenshin," Akira couldn't help but murmur one time. Kaoru could only look at him in sympathy, then at Kenshin. Whatever he was dreaming about right now sure doesn't look like a good one to them.

The worst came when Kenshin screamed. They were jolted from their short naps at midnight at the sound of it. They found Kenshin bolt upright, a wild look in his eyes, breathing heavily as if he'd run a race.

"Kenshin," Akira called out, but Kenshin didn't seem to hear him.

"Stay away from me," he whispered hoarsely but in a menacing tone.

"Kenshin, we're here, buddy, we're not going to leave you alone," Akira persisted.

"Stay away!" Kenshin shouted and tried to get out of bed, but Akira was on the side he moved to. He easily caught Kenshin, but to hold him down was not as easy.

"Kenshin, you're sick, stop this now!" Akira tried to drown Kenshin's voice.

"Stay away from me, I said!" With one strong push, God knows where he got his strength, he knocked Akira down and started to walk toward the door. Before he could hold the door handle though, Kaoru got hold of his arm.

"Kenshin!" she cried out, but before she could say anything else, she was startled at the glint of a knife near her throat.

"Kenshin!" Akira cried out in alarm, and moved to try to subdue Kenshin. Kaoru held up her hand.

"No, Akira!" she warned him, then looked directly into Kenshin's eyes. "Kenshin, please."

"Kenshin…"

At the sound of their voices, sanity returned to Kenshin's eyes. He blinked, and whispered, "Kaoru?" Then he looked down and saw his hand holding a knife to Kaoru's throat. He dropped it in surprise. "What have I done?"

Kaoru breathed out in relief. "It's okay, Kenshin, you didn't hurt me," she assured him soothingly. Although she was still shaken at the ferocity of the glare she saw in his eyes a moment ago, she could feel the trembling of his arm in her hand.

Kenshin couldn't look at her in the eye. "I'm sorry for that," he whispered.

Akira pulled himself up on his feet. He glanced over at Kaoru, who nodded in reply to his unspoken question, and held Kenshin firmly on the shoulders. After that one burst of energy, he seemed to have gone back to his previous state of weakness. They led Kenshin back to his bed, where he once again fell asleep as quickly as he had woken up. Meanwhile, they could only look over him as he slept again, this time calm and peacefully.

When they were assured that there wasn't any second outbursts from Kenshin, they now settled themselves on the chairs they have left a while ago. Then Akira buried his face in his palms.

"I can't take this anymore," he whispered. "Here he is, the one person who I have valued like my own life, and yet here I am, helpless to ease this pain."

"You are a help to him, Akira," Kaoru retorted. "See how you help me take care of him even right now."

Akira raised his eyes. "That's not it, Kaoru," he said. "I knew, I've always known, that he had some things in his past that he doesn't like to talk about. I've promised him I wouldn't delve into it, but not knowing makes me feel helpless when he feels pained by it."

Kaoru fidgeted with the towel in the basin. "How much do you know about Kenshin?"

Akira sighed, then looked at Kenshin. "It was ten years ago, when I saw this red-haired boy hiding behind a barrel in an alleyway, near your dojo, actually," he said. "I had run away from school, as well, and was wandering around the slums with no direction at all. I just happened to glance at his direction because, well, of his striking red hair."

"_What are you doing there?" Akira called out._

_The redhead shushed him. "Quiet! If you love your life you will keep your mouth shut and pretend you didn't see me."_

_Akira frowned. "How can anybody avoid looking at you? Your hair is a striking red, that's what it is." He moved closer to the boy, who was growing panicked at his approach._

"_Leave me, you fool! What are you doing?" the boy whispered urgently. "You're going to give away my position!"_

_But Akira was stubborn, and before the boy finished talking, he was beside him already. Close up, he could see that aside from the scarlet hair that grew long and wild past his shoulders and nearly down his back, the boy also had startling eyes that seemed violet when the light touched it, and a cross-shaped scar was etched on his left cheek. He was dressed in a blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans that were stained with mud and patched over in various parts._

"_What are you looking at?" the boy asked roughly. _

_Akira shook his head. "Nothing. Just you, wondering who you are hiding from."_

_The boy snorted. "As if you can help me with that." He was sitting down on the ground and stared on the opposite wall. "Now because a fool is now giving away my position, I'm simply going to wait for _him_ to come and capture me… again."_

_Akira raised his eyebrow. "You aren't exactly hiding properly, you know."_

_The boy sighed. "I know. I know that I can't run away or hide from him forever, so I'm simply here, trying to earn a respite from it all."_

_Akira saw a group of menacing-looking men starting to cross the bridge beyond. "I think, whoever it is you are running away from, is coming here."_

_The boy sighed again. "Never mind. You run away now, though, because he's a man you wouldn't want to meet in your life."_

_Akira frowned at the boy. "So, after every effort that you've spent in trying to escape, you're just going to let it waste like that?" Without waiting for the boy to reply, he ran towards the man and bumped into him hard._

"_Why you—" the man snarled at him, but Akira held his jacket._

"_Please help me, sir, I've been pickpocketed by a red-haired boy," he pleaded._

_The man held him by the collar and raised him up. "Which way did he go, boy?" he growled at Akira. "Tell me!"_

_Akira pointed to the direction opposite where the boy hid. "That way, sir. Please, you're hurting me."_

"_Bah!" the man uttered, and threw Akira away from him. He landed hard on the ground. "You just scram, boy, and hope that I won't see your face again." He then went off together with his lackeys in the direction he pointed at._

_Akira tried to get up, but his left arm was hurting. As he was gingerly trying to stand, a hand was offered. He looked up, and the boy was looking down on him._

"_You really are a foolish one," he said as Akira took his offered hand and raised himself up. "Why did you do that?"_

_Akira frowned. "Because you are such a coward." _

_The boy laughed. "That's true, isn't it?"_

_Akira smiled as he thought about the bullies in his school he had run away from. "Actually, so am I." He held out his free hand. "Akira Kiyosato."_

_The boy looked at his hand for a while, then held out his own and shook Akira's. "Kenshin Himura."_

_Akira held on to it. "Come with me." _

"Meeting both of you had been a strange series of coincidences, actually," Akira said. "When I met you, I just happened to be passing through and saw that same alleyway again. I was too busy remembering the past when I was caught in the rain you saw me under." He sighed. "But as far as I know, Kenshin never went back there anymore. Probably he didn't have anywhere to go back to, but at the same time, probably he was still hiding from the people he was hiding from that time. I don't know, because he doesn't tell me anything. And I can't ask him, because I promised not to."

Kaoru looked over Kenshin, then at Akira. She couldn't decide what to do. _Should I tell Akira the truth about Kenshin, or let him tell Akira himself?_ She looked over Kenshin again. His face was tranquil after the violent outburst that have happened earlier, and she thought about what could possibly happen if she did tell Akira about Kenshin's Battousai past.

_In the end, though, it's still his secret to keep – or share._

"You're doing just fine, Akira," Kaoru said. "You do help him a lot more than you realize. From what you told me, you saved him from something bad, and that ought to be enough. And from what I see from Kenshin, it is more than enough."

Akira gave her a small smile. Kaoru walked over to where he was and put her arms around him. "I would know, because you too saved me."

Before she closed her eyes to receive Akira's kiss, she thought she saw Kenshin's eyes open and give her a melancholic gaze, but when she glanced over him again, he was still asleep.


End file.
